There is a scene in director Prajesh Sen's Captain where Anu Sithara's character tells her fiance that she would ideally want to marry one of those cricketer chaps than a football player. There are at least two more sequences that highlight this negative bias among Indian sports entertainment consumers towards football. Which is why it turns out to be a lukewarm sports drama about a hardcore football player than a solid biopic about him. Jayasurya, adding one more feather to his cap, plays former Indian football team captain V P Sathyan like he is playing him in real life. There is so much resemblance between the two, plus Jayasurya's dramatic performance, all of which make Captain a good watch until you start focusing on the game. With a production value of a rundown short film made for YouTube, the football action sequences in Captain look like they were played out in the director's backyard "paadam" (playground). The blame is on the DOP and the editor as well for the football shots are neither captured from an appreciable angle nor completed for the viewer's satisfaction. Most of the sequences are ahead of themselves and automatically conclude the scene without waiting for the action to even happen. Sithara is phenomenal as Sathyan's wife, and her character brings back hope for female characters in Mollywood. I am also not sure why the makers wanted to make this movie, for Sathyan's madness about football does not send out a positive message. Instead of a sportsman's patriotism and/or passion for the game, Captain emphasizes on the cons of a sports, and shows how they can wreck the lives of not only the player but also his near and dear ones. I am not a sports enthusiast, which is why I like to think that Sathyan's story is something that should be studied by aspiring sports players of today, because other than glory and money, it can damage you. Both physically and mentally. Despite having related to the end message, I cannot forgive the editor for sewing this up like a badly finished puzzle. Watching Captain just puts you off because of its terrible non-linearity and subdued execution, even though it boasts of some good music and performances. TN.
